Motor Vehicle Act 2019, Salient points to remember

Pashu Sandesh, 02 August 2019

In a bid to make Indian roads safer Government introduced a stricter Motor Vehicle Act (Amendment) Bill 2017 which was finally passed by the Rajya Sabha on 31 July 2019. The new Act is all set to replace the 30-year-old Motor Vehicle Act. Every year country loose more than 1.4 lakh lives on the roads in Accidents which often result from avoidable human errors.

In a bid to keep our readers well informed, here we present some important points highlighted in the Motor Vehicle Act 2019, One of the notable changes to the Motor Vehicle Act includes a penalty of Rs 10,000 to those who do not give way to an ambulance on the road.

Below are some of the important proposals in the Bill:

1) It makes Aadhaar mandatory for getting a driving licence and vehicle registration.

2) For deaths in hit-and-run cases, the government will provide a compensation of Rs 2 lakh or more to the victim's family. Currently, the amount is just Rs 25,000.

3) In traffic violations by juveniles, the guardians or owner of the vehicle would be held responsible unless they prove the offence was committed without their knowledge or they tried to prevent it. The registration of the motor vehicle in question will be cancelled. The juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.

4) The bill has provision for the protection of Good Samaritans. Those who come forward to help accident victims will be protected from civil or criminal liability. It will be optional for them to disclose their identity to the police or medical personnel.

5) The minimum fine for drunk driving has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.

6) The fine for rash driving has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

7) Driving without a licence will attract a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 as against Rs 500 at present.

8) The fine for over-speeding will go up from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000-2,000.

9) Not wearing a seatbelt would attract a fine of Rs 1,000 as against Rs 100 at present.

10) Talking on a mobile phone while driving will attract a fine of Rs 5,000, up from Rs 1,000.

11) A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.

12) It will be mandatory to alter vehicles to make them suitable for specially-abled people.

13) Contractors, consultants and civic agencies will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads leading to accidents.

14) A time limit of six months has been specified for an application of compensation to the Claims Tribunal with regard to road accidents.

15) The Bill removes the cap on liability for third-party insurance. The 2016 Bill had capped the maximum liability at Rs 10 lakh in case of death and Rs 5 lakh in case of grievous injury.

16) The time limit for renewal of driving licence is increased from one month to one year before and after the expiry date.

17) The government can recall vehicles whose components or engine do not meet the required standards. Manufacturers can be fined up to Rs 500 crore in case of sub-standard components or engine.